Showdown on Wedding Hall Lane
by Tekiya Kyonshi
Summary: Heero loves Relena, but she's getting married! Can he win her back? And can he do anything if his rival is his best friend? DM/RP, HY/RP, DM/HS
1. Chapter 01

Showdown on Wedding Hall Lane  
  
by Tekiya Kyonshi  
  
-*-  
Author's Note: Hi all! This is my first Gundam Wing fanfic, so please bare with me! Send me feedback, please, but no flames!  
-*-  
  
"Hey man," Duo said, walking up to his friend and former comrade. "What're you doing?"  
  
Heero was reading a newspaper. "I'm reading a newspaper, Duo," he said.  
  
"That's great," Duo said. "But listen, I have to talk to you about something."  
  
"What is it?" Heero put down his newspaper with the utmost care and looked at Duo, his eyes alight with interest.  
  
"Er.." Duo said, shuffling uncomfortably, "this is kinda embarrassing and everything...but oh, what the heck. I was wondering if you'd be the best man at my wedding."  
  
"Duo, you're getting married?" Heero said, eyes wide with astonishment.  
  
"Yep, sure am," Duo replied with a grin.  
  
"With who?" Heero asked, although he knew the answer. Hilde, of course, who else could it be?  
  
The answer was not what he expected it to be.  
  
"Ah, well, man, I guess I never told you...I've been seeing Relena, you know, for months....I proposed last night and she finally said yes!" Duo's violet eyes were dancing with happiness.  
  
The bottom fell out of Heero's world like a bag of soggy groceries.  
  
~o.O~o.O~o.O~o.O~o.O~o.O~o.O~o.O~o.O~o.O~o.O~o.O~o.O~o.O~o.O~o.O~  
  
//I can't believe Duo is marrying Relena...I can't believe they were even seeing each other...*without* telling me....I can't believe it, I can't believe it....//  
  
Heero mechanically adjusted the bow tie of his tuxedo, hands and body numb.  
  
//They didn't tell me....//  
  
And even more pervasive was the thought: //Why does she love Duo?//  
  
//Why did she reject me?//  
  
He thought of the beautiful and utterly capivating girl then, of her sparkling cornflower-blue eyes, of her long beautiful sandy-blond tresses, of her white dress swirling in the wind on one long ago forgotten day on the beach...  
  
He thought about their prolonged friendship, of their letters written through the years, always full of such affection and warmth...  
  
//I thought we had something.//  
  
Had he been so sadly mistaken to see that sparkle in her eyes whenever see looked at him as something more than friendship?  
  
And Duo...Duo had been his best friend!  
  
//How could he do something like this to *me*? How could he destroy the relationship that was building between Relena and me? How?!//  
  
He realized that he was still automatically smoothing down a suit that was immaculate to the last thread. He looked at the mirror, but he wasn't looking at his reflection, he was looking past it at some point between the glass and infinity.  
  
//Infinity.//  
  
He looked at himself once again, and with sudden decision turned towards the door.  
  
//I'll do what I have to to get you back, Relena,// he vowed.  
  
~o.O~o.O~o.O~o.O~o.O~o.O~o.O~o.O~o.O~o.O~o.O~o.O~o.O~o.O~o.O~o.O~  
  
Duo stood before the alter, slightly worried. His best man hadn't shown up yet, and it was only ten minutes before the ceremony was scheduled to start. But he shouldn't be worried, not really; the rings were safely in the keeping of Quatre. The blonde had meant to give them to Heero, but somehow Quatre had never been able to find Heero at the exact given time. One thing had happened after another, and now they were here, at Duo's wedding sans one best man.  
  
Duo normally wouldn't have doubted Heero's punctuality, after all--the man practically lived and breathed routine, he wouldn't have been surprised if his blue-eyed friend didn't have some sort of internal clock accurate down to the second--but this was his wedding and the braided man felt that he was entitled to be worried.  
  
//I'm sure Heero has an excuse. Heero'd better have an excuse.//  
  
The normally laid-back American found that he couldn't afford to have the same easy-going attitude about everything. Especially not to the person he loved most.  
  
Then his thoughts turned to his fiance and soon to be wife, and he felt himself drift into that warm fuzzy sensation he always had when he thought about her. They hadn't been that close during the war, and to tell the truth he'd always thought that Heero'd win her in the end, it'd seemed like that way from the start, but somehow circumstances shifted and he found himself in the position to claim the sandy-haired angel for his own.  
  
How had things turned out this way?  
  
Well, he wasn't complaining. A wistful smile stole its way across his features.  
  
//Relena, even if I die now...I'll die happy, knowing that you smiled at me.//  
  
-*-  
  
//Relena, you *will* be mine.//  
  
-*-  
  
tbc.... 


	2. Chapter 02

Showdown on Wedding Hall Lane   
by Tekki-chan   
  
Author's Notes: Wow, it's been a long time, hasn't it? Well, I couldn't leave Heero, Duo, and Relena hanging forever, could I? Here's the next chapter, hope you like! R&R please!   
  


* * *

  
  
"Duo, what should we do?" Quatre whispered urgently, his large turquoise eyes filled with worry. "We have to get started _now_, or..."   
  
"I know," said Duo, sighing heavily. "I'm worried about Heero...he never used to be late to anything...he must be delayed or something; what if he's hurt or in danger? He may need our help, and..."   
  
"Slow down, Duo, it might just be a traffic jam," said Quatre soothingly. "It's up to you whether you want to go through with the wedding, or go look for him, though. Yours and Relena's."   
  
"I..." Duo thought. In particular, he thought of his angel, who was sure to look beautiful in her white lace wedding dress. In his mind, she was smiling at him. //I should be going to look for Heero...but...//   
  
"What do you want to do?" Quatre was looking earnestly at him.   
  
Duo gazed back, and knew what he had to do.   
  
"I'm getting married."   
  


* * *

  
  
"...if anyone has any objections to this union, let them speak now or forever hold their peace." The priest paused and looked up, scanning the rows of the church. Someone coughed, but there was silence. Quatre fidgeted a little, unsure of his role as the hastily chosen best man.   
  
"Wait!"   
  
Duo's eyes flicked to the direction of the shout. Relena looked also, her white veil swishing.   
  
Four pairs of eyes widened in surprise.   
  
Finally, it was Quatre who spoke. "Heero?!"   
  
The former Wing pilot stood in the doorway of the church, his chest heaving. He was wearing his best man attire, but it was messy and undone in some places. He took a moment to catch his breath, and his audience stared uneasily while he did so.   
  
"Heero..." said Duo, with a slightly forced smile, "You were late, so we went on without you. Sorry, man."   
  
Relena, her face still covered with the heavy veil, said nothing.   
  
Heero's eyes immediately went to her. He ignored everyone else, and spoke only to her.   
  
"I have an objection."   
  
There were gasps from all around the church.   
  
"Don't marry him, Relena. I...I...I've always loved you! Come away with me..."   
  
Duo took a step back in shock. "Heero...I thought you were my friend..."   
  
Heero looked at the violet-eyed American. "I'm sorry, Duo, I am...but my love surpasses all boundaries, and thusly is the most important thing to me..."   
  
Duo glanced at his soon-to-be bride. "Relena? Please, don't listen to what he says. Marry me. _I_ love you."   
  
"If you don't come with me, Relena," said Heero, gravely, "I'll die. I swear it."   
  
The two waited breathlessly for Relena's verdict. For a long moment, she didn't move, didn't make any indication of how she felt. The veil covered her face so that her expression was completely hidden from her two suitors.   
  
Then, slowly, she removed her veil. Her eyes were full of tears. "I...I can't marry either of you." She turned around and fled, out of the church as Heero and Duo stared, dumbstruck, after her.   
  
-*-   
  
tbc... 


	3. Chapter 03

Showdown on Wedding Hall Lane by Tekki-chan

A/N: The next chapter! What'll happen to Heero, Duo, and Relena?

--

The entire church was deathly silent as all the wedding-goers stared, uncertainly, at the groom and the intended best man, both standing frozen in horror at what had occured. Heero's normally lightning quick reflexes, honed from years of training, were suddenly defunct. All his mind could process was the refusal, which still rang in his shocked ears. He hadn't seriously expected her to say no. Hadn't there always been an unspoken promise between them, affection without words?

Outwardly, Heero's expression was as stony as it ever was. It showed nothing of the turmoil present in his fragile soul. But Duo's reaction was more visible; the long-haired former Deathscythe pilot looked torn with grief and pain. He could not believe that Relena would leave him, not after having agreed to spend the rest of her life with him. Had it all been a lie? It broke his heart to think so, but he didn't know what to believe after her tearful announcement and subsequent flight from the place where they would have made their sacred vows to join in holy matrimony. A single tear slid downwards to rest in his wedding finery. He knew then that his heart was irreparably broken, and it would never be the same again.

Heero broke out of his trance first, sprinting to the doorway as soon as his mind realized the most important thing--Relena. Though she had spurned him, maybe all was not as it appeared. It was the one hope he clung to as he ran in his uncomfortable dress shoes, not caring that his suit was stretching in ways it hadn't been designed for. Nor did he particularly care when he noticed, distantly, that Duo was on his heels, a little behind but matching his speed.

Duo's hurt became desperation as soon as he realized that Heero might catch up to Relena first. He began to run without consciously knowing what he was doing, only that he had to find his love and make her understand his feelings. Maybe Relena was confused, but he would show her how much he loved her and she would come back to him.

They ran as fast as they could. When they got outside, however, the car that had been waiting to carry the newlyweds to their next desination was gone...and so was Relena.

Duo sank to his knees in despair and cried into his hands. Heero looked down the street, expressionlessly, his own heart swelling with the pain of loss.

The sky quietly opened and wept with them. 


End file.
